Southampton house fire: this is everything we know so far

This is everything we know so far.

You can read the full blog with pictures and video of the fire and its aftermath here.

What happened?

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service were first called at 2.27pm yesterday to what was described by a member of the public as a fire in a garden outside a property in Bitterne Road West.

Upon arrival at the incident, it became clear the fire had spread to the roof of the property and large plumes of smoke could be seen billowing into the sky and across the River Itchen.

Once they saw the scale of the blaze, the first firefighters to arrive called for back-up.

Five vehicles in total were called to the scene: four traditional fire engines, referred to as pumps, and an aerial ladder platform.

How did the incident affect traffic?

Police were called by the fire service at 2.47pm and closed Bitterne Road West shortly afterwards, between Hawkeswood Road and Englefield Road - leading to queueing vehicles, traffic being diverted and causing delays elsewhere in the city.

The eastbound carriageway was reopened by 5.20pm, and one lane of the westbound carriageway by 6pm.

What was the impact of the fire?

Thankfully, no-one was injured and the fire did not spread to neighbouring properties.

No-one needed to be rescued from the house, and neighbours did not need to be evacuated either.

The fire caused widespread damage to the garden, and to the roof of the house where it was contained by firefighters.

To make it safe, they removed the tiles from the roof, exposing the charred wood underneath and the extent of the damage.

Fire crews were still at the scene as of around 6pm, helping to retrieve personal belongings for the person who lives there.

What was the cause of the fire?

Despite some speculation from eyewitnesses, this has yet to be confirmed by the fire service or the police.

However, a force spokesman said they are currently treating it as arson.

Police cars were seen outside the property yesterday evening.

Anyone with information can report it to police on their website or by calling 101, quoting 44230251934.

What did people have to say about it?

A 27-year-old neighbour who witnessed the fire has described her shock at something like this happening on her doorstep.

She said she was in her flat near the entrance of Bitterne Manor Park with her boyfriend when she was alerted to the fire.

"All this smoke started coming in, so we looked outside and the river [Itchen] was just filled with smoke. We couldn't see anything.

"It didn't smell like a bonfire so we thought 'hmm, this is a bit dodgy'."

The couple, who initially thought it was a bonfire in the park, went outside and said the woodland and Bitterne Manor was 'engulfed with smoke'.

"We walked up and saw the fire engines. Quite a few people were stood around looking to see what happened."

Hannah De Boltz was on the number 18 bus into Southampton city centre when she became caught up in the response to the fire.

She said the smell of the smoke hit her first, followed by the sight of the 'giant plume' and 'lots of fire engines'.

"I was in shock; I think all of us on the bus were.

"It was just so hot - you could feel the heat radiating from the fire, especially coupled with the weather."

The bus driver let them off while they were stuck, for around 20 minutes or so, before being diverted to the city centre via Portswood.

The 22-year-old charity worker from Bitterne said: "You don't expect to see this sort of thing on your doorstep.

"I just feel sorry for the person whose house it is."

Julia Garner was on a bus at the time firefighters arrived.

She praised the 'skilled emergency service drivers' as well as the other cars on the road.

She said: "Having had a house fire in 2019 I have personal experience and know how incredible our fire crews are." 

She also complimented the bus driver on his quick thinking.

She said: "The bus driver was a very skilled driver, he had to manoeuvre the vehicle as much as he could onto the pavement to let the ambulance and fire engines through. At this stage the smoke was incredibly thick.

"I saw another fire engine reversing from the Northam end of the road to get to the property on fire."